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Sunday, September 1, 2013

Grilled Bratwurst

Labor Day and football mean peak brat-fry season

Bratwurst tastes great anytime. But in the US, peak brat-fry season starts on Labor Day.

That’s partly because brats make such a great entrée for holiday cookouts. But Labor Day also marks the beginning of football season in the US. Which means tailgating season, where bratwurst is often the star attraction.

What about that “fry” thing in the subtitle, though? Well, no worries. There’s actually no frying involved here, just grilling. (And maybe some pre-simmering).

The term “brat fry” originated in Wisconsin, BTW—where bratwurst is one of the major food groups.

Recipe: Grilled Bratwurst

Bratwurst is a sausage that’s usually made fom veal, pork, or beef. It originated in Germany—where Brät means finely chopped meat and Wurst means sausage. Wikipedia says that in modern German, the “brat” part tends to be associated with braten, a verb that means “to pan fry or roast” (and of course you can pan fry brats, though in the US they’re more often grilled).

The best-quality brats will be raw when you purchase them (you’ll see precooked ones, but don’t bother). When you grill raw brats, they take a good 15 or 20 minutes to cook. And grilling from the raw state can be a bit tricky—you don’t want the casing (skin) to burst, so you have to be careful with the heat.

In places like Wisconsin—where eating bratwurst is practically a way of life—cooks generally simmer brats in a fragrant mixture of beer and onion before grilling them. So by the time the brats hit the flames, they’re basically done. At that point, you just need to grill them for several minutes to brown them (and char them lightly, if that’s your inclination—as it is mine). If you’re grilling bratwurst for a crowd, you may want to cook your brats ahead of time. In that case, you’ll hold them on a low simmer in a “batter” (that’s what they call it in Wisconsin) of beer, onion, and often butter. (See Notes for recipes.)

Brats tend to be larger than hot dogs, so many people say you should serve them on brat rolls—which are like hot-dog buns, only bigger. In Sheboygan (home of high-church bratwurst consumption), people often serve brats on “hard rolls.” Despite the name, these rolls actually are soft—and large enough to hold two brats side by side (they have a convenient split down the center of the crown that makes it easier to cut the bun in half if you want to serve brats one at a time rather than in pairs).

If you can find actual bratwurst rolls, they’re worth buying. Otherwise, your market may offer deli rolls that look like oversized hot-dog buns (I used some in the pictures for this post). Don’t sweat it if you can find only standard hot-dog buns. I lived in Wisconsin for a few years, and most of the brats I was served there were on hot-dog buns. Authenticity can be good, but I never let it interfere with eating.

My recipe calls for simmering brats in beer, then grilling. (You can skip the simmering if you want, and just grill, though you’ll miss out on a bit of flavor). This recipe makes enough to serve 6 (or 3 hungry Sheboyganites), but buy as many brats as you want — it’s easy enough to adjust the quantity of simmering liquid.

It takes about 20 minutes to simmer the brats, another 5 minutes or so to grill them. So figure on maybe 30 minutes altogether. See the Notes for instructions on how to cook ahead and hold.

condiment(s) of your choice (brown mustard is traditional, though I prefer yellow; see Notes)

Procedure

Start the fire on your grill. If using charcoal, ignite enough briquettes to cover the full area underneath the brats you’ll be grilling; allow the briquettes to burn down to white coals. If using a gas grill, just light it and turn the heat to medium.

Place brats, beer, and chopped onion in a cooking pot large enough to hold all of them. If the brats aren’t quite covered, add a bit of water (brats tend to float, so don’t just assume there’s not enough liquid—check first).

Bring the bratwurst to a simmer—but don’t let the liquid boil. Vigorous boiling can cause the sausage skin to burst.

Simmer the brats until just cooked through—20 minutes. Remove them from the cooking liquid and discard the liquid.

Plop the brats on the grill, and cook until they reach the stage of brownness you prefer. Turn fairly frequently so all sides cook equally.

Serve on hot-dog (or brat) buns, along with condiment(s) of your choosing.

Notes

Who knows how the term “brat fry” originated? It has nothing to do with deep frying (or pan frying). Instead, it indicates that you’re cooking brats for a crowd (in my book, a group of 2 qualifies) using the type of procedure outlined in this recipe. Think of it as a weenie roast—where you’re not actually roasting hot dogs (or brats), just grilling them.

The Johnsonville company sells good-quality uncooked bratwurst (they also produce a cooked version, but avoid that). BTW, your grocery store may keep raw brats in the freezer case, especially in parts of the country where bratwurst is less popular.

Brats shrink somewhat as you simmer them (they have a high fat content). Getting rid of some fat is of course a positive for most of us.

You can use any kind of beer to simmer brats, though lager is traditional.

Some people like to add diced green bell pepper to their simmering liquid. Or diced tomatoes. Or both.

If you want to cook brats somewhat ahead of time, you’ll need to hold them after they’ve been grilled. For this, you’ll need simmering “batter.” Don’t use the liquid you simmered the brats in before grilling; instead, make a fresh batch, this time with butter. For post-grilling batter, I generally use 2 or 3 bottles of beer, a chopped onion, and about a stick of butter (maybe a bit less). Hold the brats at the barest simmer until you’re ready to serve.

If you’re cooking more or fewer brats than this recipe specifies, it’s easy enough to scale up (or down) the amount of beer and other ingredients needed for simmering and holding.

Some cooks reverse the order of the steps in this recipe. They grill brats first for 5 minutes or so—just enough to brown them—and then finish cooking them in a beer-and-onion mixture. The concept is similar to my recipe for Barbecued Pork Steaks. This “reverse” method may be easier if you need to hold brats for a while before serving. I haven’t experimented with it, but you might want to.

Brown mustard is the traditional condiment for brats. In Wisconsin, some people frown on the yellow ballpark stuff—though that’s what I happen to like on brats (and hot dogs). I’ve also seen Wisconsinites put butter on their brats, though that doesn’t sound appealing to me (admittedly, I haven’t tried it, so I might be missing out). Other popular toppings include ketchup, chopped onion, relish, sauerkraut—whatever you like. Whether traditional or not, whatever sounds good to you probably will be.

Tailgate Chow

“Wonderful,” said Mrs. Kitchen Riffs as she bit into her mustard-slathered brat. “And this goes great with the
French Potato Salad you made.”

“There are lots of side dishes listed on our blog index,” said Mrs K R. “No need to run through everything that would be brat-fry appropriate!”

“I was going to stop at Baked Beans with Bacon,” I said, fixing myself a second brat. “But you’re right. We have more important things to discuss—like football season! For most teams it starts on September 8th this year. I can’t wait.”

“I can,” said Mrs K R. “I guess you’re going to plant yourself in front of the TV again every Sunday afternoon.”

“Well, sure,” I said. “It’s the American way. Just be glad I’m not a fan of college football—otherwise it would be every Saturday afternoon, too.”

“OK, I can live with Sunday gridiron, just as long as you don’t make me watch any games,” said Mrs K R. “And provided you cook up bratwurst for a couple of tailgate-style picnics.”

118 comments:

Bratwurst for me anytime. I really mean anytime! =D We just put it into a Semmel bread and add some horseradish at the side or some horseradish mustard paste. You are tempting me with your perfect pictures John!

I was never a big fan of hot dogs and sausages and that's definitely the Indian and me and not the British! But my hubby is a big fan so we do make them. If eat them then they are grilled beyond recognition and skins burst :) I have to say, your brats look spectacular! And I love all those side suggestions.So, John, who's your team? Surely not the Rams ;)?Can't wait for the Broncos to beat up on The Ravens in their opener. We've had to put up with Joe Flacco's face on our stadium, that's just so wrong.

Hi Nazneen, I'm always a fan of the local team, so the Rams it is. ;-) They'll be OK this year. I hope! Actually I've lived in tons of different places, so have rooted for a lot of teams, but other than my current local team, the only other one I follow is the Bucs (I was there were they were miserable, then good, then back to miserable). Thanks for the comment.

What a way to begin the month! I have always wanted to attend the Bratwurst festivals in Wisconsin. Perhaps next year:) I have a feeling your Brat recipe will hold me off for just a little while. I'm a fan of the beer method. However, it just never occurred to me to reverse it. I'll have to check into that. All those salad recipes sound like perfect companions! I'm leaning toward the Mustard Potato Salad.

oh gorgeously browned sausages...never knew what Bratwurst meant before reading this post...we would certainly opt for the yellow mustard over the pungent brown...terrific recipe and adorable food clicks as always...thanks :-)

I love brats from the grill...I actually even loved them fried in a pan but know what? I've never heard of a brat-fry when grilling them! My sis lives in WI even but then I've never been there during football season! I know they're a bit weird up there; they also play a game on ice with brooms; maybe they grill/fry brats afterwards? :)

My football history? Was a diehard fan of the never good enough for prime time St. Louis Cardinals; no matter that I moved from St. Louis 37 years ago! Even sort of followed them when they moved to Arizona. But switched my allegiance to the Broncos after that move and they are my team now. Unless they don't make it to the Super Bowl and the Rams do, especially when they had a guy I liked as much as Kurt Warner is at quarterback!

We're still having summer so I'm not thinking football yet and ignore preseason games...but I could do a brat-fry!

Hi Barb, brat-fries are great no matter what you call them! I was a big fan of the Cardinals in my youth, the first time I lived in St. Louis. They always had such interesting offenses under Don Coryell! Still very much summer here (101 F yesterday!) but fall is coming. ;-) Thanks for the comment.

We have a great source of brats in Swiss, MO. Swiss is between St. L and Jeff City. http://www.swissmeats.com/ I load up whenever I'm on my way back to Jeff from St. L during store hours. Their brats are leaner than most so you need to monitor carefully or use the simmer method. Say "hi" to Mrs. KR

Hi Sara! I'll definitely say hi to Mrs K R (I'm guessing this is the Sara R from her law school days?). Anyway, thanks for the tip about Swiss Meats - sounds like it's worth an excursion! And thanks for commenting.

It's getting close to lunchtime here in Sydney and I'm looking at these and feeling very hungry. What a yummy lunch and what wonderful long-weekend fare. I've cooked with this 'brats' before and yes, you do have to be careful not to split the skins xx

Oh yum. These pictures are making me hungry (and we had flank steak for dinner!) My family LOVES football, so now I'm eager to sit down in front of a game and eat one of these grilled brats. Thank you for sharing! I hope you had a wonderful weekend, and I hope you have an even better start to your week.

You are full of knowledge, I love stopping by. Firstly I never new you could buy fresh bratwurst, I will have to find a decent butcher. Secondly the idea of simmering it in beer and onions before grilling is genius - honestly who would of thought. Right now I can smell the possibility of having one of these made fresh. Great post as always John, thanks.

Hi Lizzie, fresh bratwurst is truly good stuff - worth seeking out. If your butcher is any good at all, he'll either know how to make it - of if he doesn't want to bother (and if his market doesn't demand it, he may not), he'll certainly know where you can get it. Anyway, this is so worth trying - do it when you have a bunch of people over - it's one of those recipes that if you multiple, work so well with tons of friends! Thanks for the comment.

Great post, John, and not just because I agree with just about everything you wrote. When dining alone, I'll skip the beer bath and just pop the brats on the grill - and drink the beer while they cook. For game day or when friends are here, the brats definitely get the full treatment. Brown mustard is good, I even make my own, but when it comes to hot dogs or brats, I want my yellow and it is non-negotiable. This was a fun post and a good reminder for me to get some brats. Thanks, John.

Hi John, I don't think it's even legal to grill brats without drinking beer. ;-) I agree with you that brown mustard is good stuff - but, like you, it just doesn't seem right on hot dogs or brats. Whereas if I'm eating sausage that's not on a bun, brown is more appealing. Weird! ;-) Thanks for the comment.

I've never been much of a hot dog fan much to Bobby's chagrin, but through the years he has gotten me to love a good sausage. I could easily take one of your brats right off the grill and start eating it. Love the idea of precooking it in beer. Definitely need to give that a try. A perfect post for the day. Hope you're having a relaxing and enjoyable Labor Day!

Hi MJ, we're having a great Labor Day, and hope you are too. I'll bet brats would go great with a nice sauce made from green Hatch chilies! Just something for you to ponder. ;-) Thanks for the comment.

I used to eat a lot of these when I was in college thanks to an awesome hole-in-the-wall hot dog place near campus. Out of all of their selections, bratwurst with sauerkraut was my favorite. So it's no surprise that your photos are making my mouth water. Looks delicious John! BTW, my husband has been talking about the start of football season for months now. He is a long-suffering Jets fan!:)

Hi Gomo, aren't brats so great? And I agree they're terrific with sauerkraut. Although one never knows what's going to happen in football, I'm afraid your husband may have to suffer through another subpar year for the Jets, alas. But make some brats some Sunday and you'll both have a great day! Thanks for the comment.

i love brats, but we normally have it for brekkie. isn't that weird? yes weird as it may sound and oh yeah, we eat them with rice haha.I never had it simmer in beer before but would love to try that technique and also to grill it next time. I bet it adds smokey notes to the brats...yum!

Oh yum!!! Brats cooked in beer? Yes please. Sounds amazingly good... and perfectly fitting for a good German sausage with onions! As the weather is warming up slightly now (we've just entered Aussie springtime) I know I'll be firing up the grill soon. This recipe is calling my name. Thanks John!

So informative John! There is a place near our house called "The Wurst Place" that only sells Brats, Fries and Beer - it's supposed to be pretty good. I've always wanted to check it out -- you may have pushed me into finally going!

Do you know I've never tried a Bratwurst. I use to love hot dogs but now that I'm older they hate me so I don't even eat those. I have to say though after looking at this, I'm tempted to try one even if it won't agree with me.

I love Bratwurst but don't cook them often. I love this Grilled Bratwurst as I use the grill quite often these day and I love the smoky flavor from grilling. :) Your lovely potato salad sounds perfect with them. Happy grilling.